Various types of backpacks are known in the art. Modern backpack designs distribute the load onto the hips and shoulders of the user. While such designs provide a distribution which is suitable when the user is stationary, they fail to effectively accommodate users in dynamic situations such as walking, climbing, and related activities, wherein the relative spatial orientation of the various parts of the user's body changes with movement. As a result, the load is disproportionately placed on one shoulder or the other often leading to fatigued muscles.
A further disadvantage of backpacks known in the art is that the physical distances between the hip and shoulder supports is fixed during use. As a result, raising of the shoulders, for example, causes disproportionate placement of the load onto the shoulders and additionally bending by the user is severely restricted.